CHRISTMAS STORIES

In the beginning, the elohim created skies and earth.

Welcome back.  

Today, I thought about all the wonderful Christmas stories I know simply because I was born after the advent of film and television.

Just about every famous Christmas story I read or viewed has one small element in common.  It is the motif of transformation.

The Grinch transforms from the Whoville boogeyman to a good old green guy as his mean little heart becomes larger and more generous.

George Bailey transforms from a failure in a town where he tried to raise the standard of living for poor working people to a successful, beloved citizen who realizes his self worth.

Scrooge transforms from a clutching, covetous old sinner to a man who could celebrate Christmas with the best.

Emmet Otter's jug band is transformed from penniless contestants who lost the grand prize in a contest into paid performers in Doc Bullfrog's restaurant called the Riverside Rest.

Rudolph is transformed when he discovers that the one thing that makes him peculiar saves Christmas.

There are stories also that are not about transformation so much, but they are about Christmas.

Ralphie gets what he wants for Christmas, an air rifle, and he receives so much more.  He receives the gift of being in a family that loves each other and can create marvelous memories together.

One of my favorite Christmas stories is a tale from World War II.  It tells of a shared Christmas between American GIs and enemy German soldiers.  It is a Christmas tale unlike any ever told. 

Of course, the greatest story for Christians transforms the world.  

In Luke it is the story of a nobody from nowhere whose birth was announced from the sky as if he were Caesar.  This announcement came to shepherds, the poorest of the poor, who were guarding their livelihood at night. The baby was born in a place where animals were kept and fed.

In Matthew, it is the story of astrologers who saw in the skies the birth of a king and departed to see that king.  All they had to lead them was a star.  It led them to a boy king who came from poor people in a poor land.  

On this night before Christmas, we know our story celebrates the unexpected, for it can spring into being and transform the world.  

This is an everlasting story that may not have happened, but is as true as history.  

In our love story, where the simplest hearts beat and where the unadorned places lie, our God of love is revealed...not in palaces.

Blessings...